Interrogation techniques called 'too PC'

An internal after-action report detailing the performance of military interrogators debriefing prisoners of war in Afghanistan says the U.S. Army has surrendered to political correctness and is overly concerned with not offending anyone.

In the report – a copy of which was obtained by WorldNetDaily – the author complained that because of "unrealistic" training parameters, interrogators were too worried about not offending "EPWs", or enemy prisoners of war, they were questioning.

The document, titled "Afghanistan Lessons Learned," alleged that because the Army cannot implement realistic interrogator training, many military debriefers "got a real wake-up call" when they arrived in-country. It also said that some interrogators had to be relieved of duty or reassigned shortly after arrival because they were unprepared to deal with a host of "less than savory" situations and conditions.

In a "general notes" section, the report's author also criticized the time it took to disseminate intelligence gleaned from EPWs. According to the document, intelligence reports being sent up the chain of command often took five or six days to clear dissemination hurdles, even those that contained "time-sensitive" information.

Editors examining intelligence reports often sent them back for minor spelling errors or clarification of non-essential details, the document said. One editor was not even a native English speaker, the after-action report said.

The report also said there were not enough interrogators, some EPWs were treated with more respect than they deserved, and some debriefers were inexperienced in the interrogation mission.

However, the after-action report did praise the efforts of U.S. Army analysts as well as FBI and MI-6 (Britain's intelligence agency) officials for helping Army debriefers conduct "invaluable" interrogations and cultivate leads. The report also credited the CIA, though it said that agency seemed to be in the intelligence collection effort for its own benefit.

The after-action report also said the Army was teaching interrogators how to ask EPWs good evasion-proof questions and that most debriefers quickly adapted to conditions at Bagram, where at least 300 EPWs were debriefed by Army interrogators.

The Army's interrogation and counterintelligence school is located at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Public-relations officials there did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. And Army officials at the Pentagon could not comment on the performance of interrogators in Afghanistan.

However, a spokesman for the Army's Central Command, which is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the war in Afghanistan, said Army interrogators are making valuable contributions.

The performance of debriefers "has gone very well," said Lt. Col. Martin Compton. "The staff has every confidence" in them, he added.

Compton said he was unaware of any interrogators that had been relieved of duty or reassigned because they couldn't do the job. Asked about politically correct policies, he said he was "aware of no such limitations" imposed on debriefers.

In March, WorldNetDaily reported that a General Accounting Office study found that the intelligence sectors of the U.S. military and key federal agencies are suffering from a lack of language interpreters because too few dollars are being spent to produce adequate numbers.

The deficit of trained personnel in each of the agencies examined – the FBI, the State Department, the Foreign Commercial Service and the Army – has "adversely affected agency operations and hindered U.S. military, law enforcement, intelligence, counterterrorism and diplomatic efforts," the GAO report found.